Witnessing Cyberbullying and Internalizing Symptoms among Middle School Students

• Published in: European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 957 - 966
• Main Authors: Doumas, Diana M., Midgett, Aida
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04.10.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavior Rating Scales; between; between-group design; Bullying; bystander; Cognitive dissonance; Consent; Construct Validity; cross; cross-sectional; Cyberbullying; Depression (Psychology); Effect Size; group design; Health risk assessment; Helplessness; internalizing symptoms; Likert scale; Likert Scales; Mental depression; Mental health; Mental Health Programs; Meta Analysis; middle school; Middle school students; Middle schools; Multivariate Analysis; National Surveys; Outcomes of Treatment; Parent Participation; Reliability; Research Design; Researchers; sectional; Self Efficacy; Social networks; State Surveys; Student Surveys; Supervision; Validity; Victimization; United States > US; between-group design; cross-sectional; cyberbullying; bystander; middle school; internalizing symptoms
• ISSN: 2254-9625; 2174-8144; 2254-9625
• DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe10040068

Cyberbullying is a significant problem among school-aged youth. Cyberbullying peaks in middle school with 33% of middle school students reporting cyberbullying victimization and more than 50% reporting witnessing cyberbullying as bystanders. Although the association between cyberbullying victimization and internalizing symptoms is well documented, there is limited research examining the impact of witnessing cyberbullying on bystanders. To assess differences in internalizing symptoms between cyberbullying bystanders and non-bystanders, a school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among middle school students (6th–8th grade) in the United States (N = 130; 57.4% female; 42.6% male). Questionnaire data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of co-variance (MANCOVA) with three outcome variables (depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms) and the between-subject factor bystander status (bystander, non-bystander). We controlled for witnessing school bullying to examine the unique effect of witnessing cyberbullying on internalizing symptoms. Results of the MANCOVA indicated a significant effect for cyberbullying bystander status (p < 0.04). Post hoc analyses demonstrated that bystanders reported significantly higher levels of depression (p < 0.05), anxiety (p < 0.02), and somatic symptoms (p < 0.01) than non-bystanders. Findings suggest that programs to support students who witness cyberbullying are needed to reduce the mental health risks associated with being a cyberbullying bystander.